Najib Razak

Najib Razak (23 July 1953-) was Prime Minister of Malaysia from 3 April 2009 to 10 May 2018, succeeding Abdullah Ahmad Badawi and preceding Mahathir Mohamad. He was a member of the UMNO and Barisan Nasional.

Biography
Najib Razak was born in Kuala Lipis, Malaya on 23 July 1953, the eldest son of Abdul Razak Hussein (Malaysia's second Prime Minister) and the nephew of Hussein Onn (Malaysia's third Prime Minister). He was elected to Parliament in 1976, replacing his father as the representative from Pekan. He served as Chief Minister of Pahang from 1982 to 1986 and in various cabinet positions during the 1980s and 1990s, including as Defense Minister and Education Minister. From 2004 to 2009, he served as Deputy Prime Minister, and he became Prime Minister in 2009 after Abdullah Ahmad Badawi resigned. He oversaw the implementation of economic liberalization measures (such as cuts to government subsidies, loosening of restrictions on foreign investment, and reductions in preferential measures for ethnic Malays in business). Razak tightened his grip on power by imprisoning opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim on sodomy charges, imprisoning a number of people on sedition charges, and firing his own Deputy Prime Minister. His subsidy cuts led to soaring living costs, and fluctuating oil prices and a corruption scandal led to the ringgit becoming depreciated. In 2018, his party lost the general election, and the UMNO/Barisan Nasional was out of power for the first time in Malaysia's 61-year history.